Katie Weise Unedited

Katie Weise
KWFILM
September 8, 2009

An environmental economics major at the University of Georgia spent $12.50 on what could have cost over a hundred dollars to see her favorite band.
Two summers ago, Roxanne DeMarco, 19, went to see “U2:3D”. She “idolizes Bono” and was grateful for the chance to avoid the “insane ticket prices” to see her favorite band play a concert in South Africa. All while sitting in the Washington D.C. Museum of Natural History.
“It felt like I was really there”, she said. “I was rockin out in my chair.”
A 3D concert is exactly what it sounds like. A live concert of a particular band is recorded and released across the country in movie theaters to try and convey a “live performance.” The first major band to try it was U2 in 2008. “U2:3D” spent 586 days in almost 700 theaters worldwide. It was followed by “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds” and “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience”.
In order to make a movie like this, you have to be a very popular artist.
“The bands that make these are giant powerhouses that are making even more money for already very well off bands,” said director of the University of Georgia's Music Business Program Bruce Birch. “But they are a way for a band to reach an audience who might not be able to afford a live concert ticket.”
These 3D music experiences are not doing as well as hoped however. The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience only ran for 35 days in theaters and made only $23 million worldwide. On their World Tour 2009, the brothers have already made almost double that in just the first 2 months of touring. The tour ends on Nov. 26.
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This profit also seems small compared to an animated 3D movie’s earnings. The 3D film “UP” made over $400 million worldwide, and even the horror film “My Bloody Valentine 3D” made over $93 million.
“3D concerts released in movie theaters are gimmicks pissing on the true art of making a movie”, said Alec Wooden, executive editor of Athens Blur Magazine.
Smaller bands that in no way can afford to make an entire movie just about them, can keep trying to get promotion through films in other ways.
“It’s one of the best possible ways right now, especially for independent artists,” said Wooden.
Even though Nathan Bach, a member of Dear Savannah, an unsigned band from Atlanta currently working on a new EP to be released sometime in 2010, hasn’t had the chance to hear his songs in the backgrounds of film or television, he still considers it a huge honor for an artist to be apart of another piece of art.
He knows that music can have a huge impact on not just the artists who get exposure but on the film itself. In a film class Bach took they did an activity that was composed of watching a scene from a film; once without music, the second time with music.
“In the music-less scene, the dialogue seemed forced, it did nothing for me. The second time through, I got goose bumps when I heard the way the scene was driven by music. In my mind, music makes or breaks a film,” said Bach. “As a musician, it’s cool to see how songs can be interpreted by correlating it with film. As an artist, it makes me incredibly proud to know that even now, all of us are working together.”
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Wooden pointed out an example of the movie “Once”, a low budget film made a bout Irish buskers, or street musicians, last year. The soundtrack for the movie became a critical smash, and the title track was nominated for an Oscar alongside the movie with almost 20 times the budget. Now the two lead characters from “Once” are putting out a second album, and selling out theaters internationally.
“So yes, the universal truth is still the same-good art resonates with people,” said Wooden. “A movie setting is no exception.”

Contacts:
Roxanne DeMarco
Bruce Birch
Alec Wooden
Nathan Bach